How to catch pike with a spinning rod in winter

Accustomed to Russia winter with snow and frost in most regions makes fishing for spinning impossible or extremely difficult. Of course, there are winters like last winter, when there was neither snow nor ice almost anywhere, but this is an exception, which shows the crackling frost outside the window.

But even in the conditions of the real winter it is possible to find rivers or their sections, which do not freeze for a number of reasons or freeze only in the most severe frosts. This is often due to human impact on nature and is expressed in various discharges of wastes, reagents, warm water into rivers. Basically, the binding of non-freezing points falls on the areas below thermal power plants, dams, drains, etc. Maybe not everyone likes this kind of fishing, but nothing can stop an avid spinning angler!

As spring approaches, the number of options increases noticeably, and this period can also be equated to “winter spinning” at least due to snow and drifts. In this period before the ban, fishing is also very interesting and productive. Who to catch in winter spinning? Of course, pike. Reservoirs where the “toothy” leads an active lifestyle in winter, much more than other types of fish and even perch. But how, on what and when to catch it, so as not to go with the nose? Let’s try to understand.

I am a supporter of the opinion that there is no bad weather for fishing and I go when the weekend falls and there is free time, regardless of what is happening outside the window. But I can’t help but notice certain patterns.

Weather

Frost is not a hindrance to pike, I have caught it more than once at temperatures – 15 and below, the record is – 22. But of course such a strong frost most often negatively affects the pike and count on a hail of nibbles is definitely not necessary, one or two for good luck. The best time to catch pike is the thaw after the frost, and it is not necessarily a plus temperature, very often on the glue positively affected by warming a few degrees, for example, from – 13 to – 6.

I think it is partly connected with other weather phenomena: atmospheric pressure, precipitation, lighting. So, when the air temperature decreases, its volume decreases, it becomes denser, due to which the atmospheric pressure also increases. Therefore, in winter, with frost, the pressure often increases.

Although not always, it often affects precipitation. Anticyclones are characterized by increased pressure, and in most cases between the sun, frost and high pressure in winter can be equated. This works in the opposite direction: cloudy weather brings warming and lower pressure. Pike are known to be a fish species with an open-bellied swim bladder, due to which the pressure in its bladder changes relatively quickly. In practice, pike adjust to changing conditions better when the pressure drops than when it rises.

Hence the ideal conditions for catching pike in winter are cloudy days with normal or low pressure and, accordingly, a little frost or no frost. The worst conditions are bright sunshine, frost and high pressure. There are exceptions, but really rare and with a number of variables. For example, in sunny weather in the evening pike can “come out” and actively feed. In the daytime it is almost pointless to count on its bite.

Time of exit

Pike, although the fish and voracious, but does not swim around the clock with an open mouth, devouring the fry. On the contrary, most of the time it is almost in a motionless state, being in an ambush, only occasionally coming out of it. These periods of activity are usually called just “exits”.

In winter, this time is much more difficult to catch, because the periods of inactivity of pikes increase, in general, she is more passive and often covered with leeches. I think many have caught them in this state. Sometimes, when fishing, the pike practically hangs and only presses with its weight. Therefore, it is important to understand when to catch it.

There is a lot depends on the specific body of water, to find the time of its release can only empirical method. I can only share my observations. If to generalize all experience of catching in winter on different reservoirs, I would single out 3 such periods: morning from about 8 to 10 hours; lunch from 12 to 13 hours; evening before sunset from 16 to 18 hours.

From them the most stable on my reservoirs “lunch hour” – in this interval unequivocally occurred the greatest number of pike nibbles, sometimes I specially came to the river for 2-3 hours and caught one or two pike on duty.

On the second place I would put the evening output. It can move depending on the longitude of the day and night, but usually count on nibbles should be an hour and a half or two hours before sunset and until dusk. In the morning, too, outputs happen, but it depends on the reservoir. For example, the Moscow River at this time often pleases, but small and medium rivers in half. It is possible to get on a super bite, and you can meet “Petrovich”. In other time intervals, the nibbles are more likely to happen and I can’t distinguish any system.

Fishing spots

On 100% say where exactly will pike peck, you are unlikely to be able to anyone, and there are fishing completely unpredictable and knocked out of any understandable logic. That’s why we love it, probably.

At the same time on many reservoirs pike stick to the same stands or sites, moving around them, in winter it is even more clearly traced. Therefore, catching on familiar rivers is most often a test of previously worked places. Sometimes it comes to the ridiculous – pike bites time after time in the same place, sometimes even the same one.

From here it is important to find places where the pike stands. First of all, it is snags, berms, grass remnants, pits, “backs” and other pronounced places. But do not be squeamish and runny areas where the pike can feed unexpectedly. Finding such places or sites will help in the future not to waste time.

That’s why on an unfamiliar area I always try to stick to the tactics of active fishing and throw more places, standing on the point and making an average of 3 fan throws. Not one kilometer will wind up, but fishing after 3 will be an approximate selection of points that will work from time to time. Here is more important selection of baits for pike wants here and now, and we will go to them.

Lures and wiring

Although the topic of pike baits can be called a spinning Pandora’s box, I will try to open it not very much and without consequences. In my opinion, winter fishing is quite fairly divided into jig and wobbler. Other ways of catching are rather optional.

Let’s start with the jig, because in winter it is still more effective on most reservoirs. I would divide it into the classic jig with silicone baits, leash jigs and mandules, foam rubber. The vast majority of rivers that are open in winter in my area, have not the best approach to the shore, a lot of snags, grass and, accordingly, snags. Fishing in such conditions with open hooks is rarely possible without losses, so the only way out is an offset hook + collapsible weight.

This installation I often use on small and medium-sized rivers, and on many parts of the Moscow River, as the brightest representative of a large non-freezing river. The size of rubber for catching pike in winter is usually smaller than the same in summer and fall. The overwhelming number of my pike fishing trips are with silicone from 3 to 4 inches. Larger rubber works too, but much less often, mostly in thaws.

It is generally believed that the pike does not care about the edibility of rubber and there is a logic in this, but sometimes some properties of such silicone in winter helps – it gives better realization due to the soft structure. At a minimum of nibbles it is important. But of course you can also catch with “inedible”.

If we talk about specific examples of catchable edible rubber for pike in winter, it is Sawamura OneUp Shad, Keitech Easy Shiner, Keitech Swing Impact Fat, Lucky John Tioga, Lucky John Hogy Shrimp, Reins G-Tail Saturn, Pontoon 21 Awaruna, Kosadaka Awaruna, Kosadaka Swing Impact, Kosadaka Jilt and others.

From inedible leaders at me are Lunker City Shaker, Lunker City Swimfish, Bass Assassin Turbo Shads, B Fish & Tackle Moxi Ringie, Gambler Little EZ, Relax Texas, Manns Samba, etc. On colors, the preferences of pike can be different. Like pike is not the most fastidious fish, sometimes I hear from colleagues that it catches it on what you catch, but in fact it is true only partly.

If the fish is active, then any properly filed on the color of rubber will be attacked by it, but in winter it is not always so and, unlike other times of the year, it sometimes gives great preference to a particular color or shade.

I like to catch pike on bright baits, such successful fishing I have about 50 percent, but sometimes it does not react to them, and attacks only natural colors “under the roach”, it can be bziki and on the dark rubber, most often it is purple tones.

Wiring largely depends on the activity of fish here and now, but if we talk in general, it is slower than at other times of the year. Percentage of fishing in winter, where you have to “torture” pike slow even wiring, dragging rubber along the bottom with pauses, playing up the bait on the spot, etc. increases. These types of slow wiring I most often apply in familiar places or where the pike attacked, but did not sit or descended.

When fishing in a new area of this always search, so I’ll be honest, 90% of fishing I catch step jig wiring with touching the bottom for a couple of seconds and again a couple of slow turns. A very important factor in catching passive winter pike is to lighten the weight of the weight used. Often the change of weight on a lighter weight works even better than slowing down the wiring. This is due to the fact that the bait longer “floats” in the water and behaves more naturally.

It is also possible to achieve slowing down the bait by holding it during wiring, at pauses, of course. On the current it is much easier to do this, so you can make the rubber for a long time to hang in the water column. Similar tactics are applicable to the wiring of rubber competitors – mandula and foam rubber.

However, on my reservoirs places where you can successfully catch them, not so much, primarily due to the large number of hooks. At the same time, in places where the bottom is relatively clean, foam rubber and especially mandula can become real “wands-extractors”. The latter, in my opinion, the best bait for passive pike, if it does not bite on it, you can safely go home.

As a wiring of these baits is best suited to the classic jig step-by-step wiring, no matter how you spin it, but it allows more places to cover, to do it faster, to find a parking lot of pike and with a high probability of it to catch. But if the “toothy” is not in the mood, can help again slow dragging along the bottom!

It’s time to move on to wobblers. These are my favorite lures, catching pike in winter on them can also be quite successful. Much said about rubber, is also true of wobblers. Their size for winter fishing is also reduced in comparison with other seasons. There are exceptions and reservoirs where pike classics work (110-130 mm), but they are much smaller than in summer and fall.

The bulk of effective winter wobblers fits into the range from 5 to 10 cm. They can be minnow wobblers , sheads and even crankbaits , more important is their feeding and selection under the depth of the reservoir. My most successful winter wobblers are: Zip Baits Khamsin, Tsuribito Jerkbait, Lucky Craft Pointer, Jackall Squad Minnow, Itumo Samba 100F, Itumo Booby 45F, Pontoon 21 Crackjack, Pontoon 21 Chaos, Kosadaka Flash, Kosadaka Mystic, Kosadaka Mirage, Strike Pro Cranky X-50 and others.

The main rule of fishing for wobblers in winter is their slow feeding. In 95% of fishing trips you can forget about summer aggressive twitching with cord recoil. Most often it is a slow jerk animation with pauses of seconds to 5-10 or even 15. Recently I had a funny case on the Moscow region river – I was holding Zip Baits Khamsin 70SR SP, and somewhere in the middle of wiring phone in my pocket began to vibrate constantly. I took it out and began to answer messages with one hand, and the other – holding the spinning, which second on the twentieth second almost flew out of my hands from a powerful blow!

No less effective slow even wiring, familiar to many fans of night pike. On winter pike it works no worse. In winter, in general, the rule works well: the slower, the better! On the current in the winter time I would also look at the composite wobblers, which can be forced to hang in place and slowly “sweat”. Sometimes this type of wobblers even in the sinking version can shoot to the wind. For example, Jackall Magallon, Kosadaka Convoy, Strike Pro Glider, Savage Gear 4Play Herring Liplure and others.

In winter, it is important for a spinning angler to be patient and keep composure in the minutes and hours when pike are not biting. I had a lot of cases when the fish does not bite, that it is not offered. I stood on a promising point, poured myself a cup of tea, had a snack, sometimes called someone, and then, calm, with feeling, with sense, with sense of purpose and arrangement broke through time after time this place with slow wires with different baits. Sometimes I turned on the loudspeaker and in the process “vsekal” pike, only this year this has happened a couple of times!

So my main advice is to go fishing to rest morally, approach it calm and devote yourself to the process, then will come and nibbles, and will be you pike. And, of course, dress warmer and take with you something hot in a thermos, it helps to get warm and direct your thoughts in the right direction.

Good luck and good luck to everyone! The pike will not pass!